Hard Drive Upgrade Info

I did find a new pdisk64 tool that Tivo wrote. The dpme.h file describes the changes they made to the APM, and they modified it to use type u64 to hold the drive size. They put the partition size as a 64 bit number at the very end of the block, put a zero in the traditional 32-bit partition size location, and use a special signature to identify that APM block. I attached the .h file.

The odd part is that the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing. The foundation is there to use a drive of any size, but the other tools in Tivo don't appear to take advantage of it. Maybe they wrote pdisk64 thinking they had to do it that way but instead discovered the workaround they're currently using.

I believe the MBT line in system information is the Mother Board Temperature.

My Roamio with 2 TB drive has been running for 20+ hours in my closet that houses all my equipment. After recording (and transferring) about 50 hours worth or shows, all is well so far. The MBT is 50.

Jeff

Click to expand...

Is there a MBT "mother board temperature" thread someplace? I haven't seen a Roamio in this thread lower than 40C yet, but mine (upgraded to a 3TB WD AV drive) is only 39C.

My Tivos have always stood on edge. They don't fit sideways on that side of my cabinet. Also, instead of putting them on the bottom of the cabinet. I have them on a shelf about 1" from the bottom of the cabinet, allowing a good inflow of cool air from the front of the cabinet.

74F where the TiVo is situated? I know my temperature can vary 2 to 3 degrees, this time of year, between the ceiling and the floor. So while my wall clock might show a temperature of 75F, the temp where my TiVo is located could be 72F. Or even a bigger difference in the Winter.

Good for you. My "authority" on the matter comes from courses on thermodynamics. By all means though start a thread about your tivo temperature and orientation, for whatever that's worth to your ego.

Click to expand...

All things be equal, orientation can make a difference if the temperature sensor is on the left or right side as the area near the "top" side will be warmer than the "bottom" side. Also depending on which side the TiVo is placed on the fan will either be at the top (good) or the bottom (bad).

Personally I worry more about the heat that comes off my audio receiver when running "full steam", as it causes temperature increases in all nearby devices.

I did find a new pdisk64 tool that Tivo wrote. The dpme.h file describes the changes they made to the APM, and they modified it to use type u64 to hold the drive size. They put the partition size as a 64 bit number at the very end of the block, put a zero in the traditional 32-bit partition size location, and use a special signature to identify that APM block. I attached the .h file.

The odd part is that the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing. The foundation is there to use a drive of any size, but the other tools in Tivo don't appear to take advantage of it. Maybe they wrote pdisk64 thinking they had to do it that way but instead discovered the workaround they're currently using.

Click to expand...

That include file is fascinating. So far I've analyzed 500GB & 2TB Roamio full images and a partial 3TB image from a Pro, and they bear little to no resemblance to the Block0 or dpme structures described.

I think your theory that they wrote it and then decided to use the current workaround is correct, but it may also have just been a proposed spec. Eryk Vershen is a media engineer at Apple, not TiVo according to Linkedin.

All things be equal, orientation can make a difference if the temperature sensor is on the left or right side as the area near the "top" side will be warmer than the "bottom" side. Also depending on which side the TiVo is placed on the fan will either be at the top (good) or the bottom (bad).

Personally I worry more about the heat that comes off my audio receiver when running "full steam", as it causes temperature increases in all nearby devices.

Click to expand...

Absolutely true. However the ambient room temperature, where the device is located (enclosure), air flow in that area, etc, are all going to be bigger contributors to how a thermistor on the motherboard reads temperature-wise then how you position it... at least typically.

I understand that TiVo forum folk are a somewhat introverted and detail oriented crowd but wanting to compare MB temperatures on a device that sits in a shelf all the time is a bit hilarious (to me).

The fact that my simple observation that other things would likely be bigger contributors to a thermistor reading resulted in someone lashing out at my attempt to be an "authority" on the subject demonstrates rather acutely just how bored some of the people on here are.

That include file is fascinating. So far I've analyzed 500GB & 2TB Roamio full images and a partial 3TB image from a Pro, and they bear little to no resemblance to the Block0 or dpme structures described.

I think your theory that they wrote it and then decided to use the current workaround is correct, but it may also have just been a proposed spec. Eryk Vershen is a media engineer at Apple, not TiVo according to Linkedin.

Click to expand...

Tivo put their copyright notice in it, alongside Apple's. That means they touched it. Eryk is the original pdisk author. Tivo didn't put who modified pdisk to create pdisk64. They also didn't remove any of Apple's original comments.

Tivo put their copyright notice in it, alongside Apple's. That means they touched it. Eryk is the original pdisk author. Tivo didn't put who modified pdisk to create pdisk64. They also didn't remove any of Apple's original comments.

Click to expand...

Agreed. I just don't know what relevance it has to Roamios at this point since they're not using those structures yet from what I've seen so far.

The APM (or dpme) structure that I've seen on Roamios is greatly simplified from earlier versions and doesn't fit that definition at all. The Block0 structure in that .h file bears no resemblace to what TiVo has used since day one and still seems to be using. In particular, there's no reference to the current alternating boot partition that has been a part of their strategy forever.

Some parts of it make a lot of sense and are clearly a 64-bit extension of the original file system, and other parts seem like pure fantasy based on the original Apple specification without much actual knowlege of what TiVo has been doing since '99.

I don't know what to think and I won't call it a red herring, but it isn't what they're using so far unlesss an analysis of the Weaknees 4TB model proves me wrong or they switch to it in the future. On stock models up to 3TB I can guarantee that they're not using it now.

...My Tivos have always stood on edge. They don't fit sideways on that side of my cabinet. Also, instead of putting them on the bottom of the cabinet. I have them on a shelf about 1" from the bottom of the cabinet, allowing a good inflow of cool air from the front of the cabinet.

4" off top. Its an Emotiva that runs pretty cool, they said 2-3 " so it should be more than good. Also talked to owners that stack without problems. Kinda excited to get my first amp, but as you can see I wont be fitting anything else.

That stand was originally designed as one shelf in each section, but I had to drill new holes to fit the player, surge protector and Hopper in one spot. Luckily the Roamio is so little!